1 Answer
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make install this will take care to move the bzImage, System.map and .config to /boot with the right names, e.g. config-2.6.39-rc1, System.map-2.6.39-rc1, etc...

the next step is to build the initramfs. That depends on the distro. On a debian-like distro, it would be mkinitramfs -c -k 2.6.39-rc1. A RH like distro that would be mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.39-rc1.img 2.6.39-rc1

Add the new kernel to your boot loader, on a modern distro, that would be a simple update-grub

Note: make defconfig may generate a kernel that lacks the proper drivers for your hardware. Safer alternatives would be to either copy the .config of your currently running kernel (look in /boot or /proc/config.gz), or to manually determine the necessary drivers by 'hand' and running a make xconfig

I know about freshness, etc. This is just a test, though. I'll configure with make gconfig later.
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polemonApr 5 '11 at 6:47

Wouldn't using high-level distribution-specific tools eg. Debian's kernel-package (though it seems to not have the favor of Debian's kernel packaging team) be more efficient? This would automate the lower level steps.
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Faheem MithaApr 5 '11 at 9:18

@Faheem I does, but I personaly found easier to learn the low level steps, so that you don't have to relearn everything every time you switch to another distro. I guess it depends on how many different distros you deal with on a regular basis.
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Frederik DeweerdtApr 5 '11 at 22:01